Method of cost reduction/billing

ABSTRACT

The present invention comprises a method of and apparatus for simplifying the process of access to a network for a roaming computer user, divides the responsibility of servicing a given user wanting to access the network between multiple parties and minimizes the possibility of improper dissemination of email header data as well as improper use of network resources (including server systems) by non-clients.

[0001] This application is a Division and a Continuation-in-PartApplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/100,619, filed Jun. 19,1998, and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING FUNGIBLEINTERCOURSE OVER A NETWORK.”

[0002] A CD_ROM appendix, Appendix A, having file named APP_A.TXT,totaling 78 kilobytes, and created on Aug. 15, 2001, consisting of acomputer listing constitutes a part of the specification of thisinvention, pursuant to 37 C.F.R. Sections 1.77 and 1.96, the CD-ROMappendix being incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

[0003] A portion of the disclosure of this appendix document containsmaterial that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention relates in general to digital data networksand, more particularly, to network access and to minimizing unauthorizedinterception of data and denial of network services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] There are many networks of computers throughout the world andthere is a need for the computers to communicate with each other acrossthe network. To provide order and security, many networks require acomputer wishing access to be authenticated before that computer isgranted access. After establishing that the computer should be allowedto communicate over the network, it may be given an identificationnumber so that the computer may be contacted by other computers on thenetwork in accordance with network protocol. In general this processapplies to a system designated as the Internet. The Internet comprises anetwork of computers that interconnect many of the world's businesses,institutions, and individuals. The Internet, which means interconnectednetwork of networks, links tens of thousands of smaller computernetworks. The Internet can be accessed directly through telephone lineswith a device called a modem or indirectly though a local area network(LAN). Most users do not have the expertise to connect their computersand associated equipment to the Internet and/or finances to have acontinuous connection to the Internet. Thus most users access theInternet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP candistribute the costs of necessary equipment and telephone lines to manyusers on some time multiplexed basis. While an ISP may have access toonly one server and a few modems for receiving incoming calls fromusers, some ISPs have access to hundreds and even thousands of modemsand many servers to interface between users and one or more high speedtelephone lines of at least DS1 standard communication capacity.

[0006] Usually the ISPs that charge the lowest prices to the user arethe busiest and users often find that access to a low cost ISP isblocked by a “busy signal”. On the other hand, a user of the high pricedISPs seldom encounters busy signals. The high priced ISPs have fewercustomers, can afford to add modems as needed and are not confrontedwith suddenly increased demands on equipment capacity.

[0007] Some ISPs use less expensive (i.e. slower rate, poorer quality orlower capacity) telephone lines or equipment to provide low cost and asa result the data transmission rate of communications between the userand the Internet may be substantially less than the capability of theusers modem. Many sets of information on the Internet, such as Webpages, include pictures, pointers to other pages, music etc, thatrequire large amounts of data to be transmitted for ultimate display.When a user is attempting to access material requiring the transmissionof large volumes of data, a low data transmission rate equates to a longtime spent waiting to obtain that data.

[0008] When a user first installs software in a computer to be used inconnecting the computer to a given ISP, many items of information needto be provided to the software before the user can communicate with theISP and be connected to the Internet. While some of the information suchas the specific communication port to be used (i.e. com1 or com2) andthe modem type used in the computer would be universal and would beidentical regardless of the ISP used, other information is ISP specific.ISP specific type information would include the ISP dial-in number, aPassword Authentication Protocol (PAP) identification number and a PAPpassword for that ISP.

[0009] Different ISPs provide different services to users. Some ISPs (noor low service) may offer only a connection to the Internet withouttechnical help to a user connected to that ISP and further without anyadditional features. Other ISPs (full service) may offer many featuressuch as encyclopedia type information, interactive games, access tootherwise costly databases, etc.

[0010] A user in a commercial environment may operate a computer that isconnected to a LAN and also is connected to a modem. There are oftenbusiness considerations that require some communications with theInternet be accomplished through the LAN and other, especially personal,communications be accomplished through a modem. If a single softwareentity such as a browser is used for both types of Internet connection,several items of information need to be altered with the accompanyingchance for error and frustration of the user.

[0011] When a computer is subjected to stress such as by a large andsudden variation in supply voltage (i.e. an electrical spike), there maybe corruption of data in the software and/or data banks of the computer.When such corruption concerns the data needed to communicate with theInternet, a considerable amount of time is often required to ascertainthe cause of the failure to attain communication and further time isrequired to correct the problem.

[0012] Some Internet users are highly mobile and may need to access theInternet from various locations, some of which locations do not have alocal phone number for communicating with the normally used ISP. Such auser either must pay the cost of a long distance call or access adifferent ISP after modifying the appropriate data the operatingsystem's networking, dial-up-networking, or communications propertiesused to accomplish such access. Such modification always invites achance for erroneous data entry in the process and the accompanying timerequired to rectify the situation.

[0013] Another problem related to network use is related to electronicmail which terminology is popularly shortened to email. Email is used toquickly communicate with other users of connected network terminals. Theprocess is normally accomplished by sending a set of data including aheader portion, a message body and sometimes one or more fileattachments. Typically, the header contains the name of the recipient ina TO line, the sender in a FROM line and a subject in a SUBJECT line.Even if the message body and the attachments are scrambled or otherwiseencrypted a persistent entity monitoring the email being sent to andfrom a given terminal may glean considerable information from thesubject matter listed and from the number of messages sent between sameparties. This information is typically sent in clear text (unencoded) tofacilitate the delivery of email to the proper temporary storagefacility, normally a post office box like repository of the serviceprovider of the recipient, until such time as the recipient retrievesthe email from the service provider. The recipient also uses the headerinformation in determining priority of messages to be read.

[0014] A further problem is third party mail relay. This is a processwhereby junk emailers use a service system other than their own to sendmassive amounts of mail without paying for the service. The massiveamount of mail can so overload the system that an invaded system cancrash, overload or otherwise be damaged. This overload is termed in theart as a denial of service attack. The overall process of sendingmassive amount of junk email is termed “spamming”. The third party mailrelay process is also used to bypass other systems filters which are setup to block mail from the junk emailers system.

[0015] In view of the above, there exists a need to quickly and easilyaccess the Internet from various locations, being able to access ISPsproviding different types of services, using various adaptors (ie modemor LAN card) and being able to choose whether preference should be givento items such as cost and quality of service, without the user having tobe concerned about correctly modifying associated data and parameterssuch as phone numbers, IDs, passwords etc used by the Internet software.

[0016] There is a further need to be able to send email to others in amanner which minimizes the possibility that unauthorized entities may beable to retrieve significant data from email header information.

[0017] Also there is a need to prevent junk emailers or otherunauthorized parties from using the third party mail relay process inconnection with a network service system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The present invention comprises a method of and apparatus forsimplifying the process of access to a network for a roaming computeruser, divides the responsibility of servicing a given user wanting toaccess the network between multiple parties and minimizes thepossibility of improper dissemination of email header data as well asimproper use of network resources (including server systems) bynon-clients.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, andthe advantages thereof, reference is now made to the followingdescriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

[0020]FIG. 1 illustrates signal communication paths between clients,ISPs and network access providers;

[0021]FIG. 2 illustrates in more detail the software interaction betweena client and an access service provider;

[0022]FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an installation procedure ofthe client dispatch application;

[0023]FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a registration procedure ofthe client dispatch application;

[0024]FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a regular use procedure ofthe client dispatch application;

[0025]FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a manual update procedure ofthe client dispatch application;

[0026]FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of a multi-dial procedure of theclient dispatch application;

[0027]FIG. 8 illustrates a plurality of MOT (a computer script language)potential processes;

[0028]FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a storage medium comprising theclient dispatch application for causing a computer to function inaccordance with the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 10 comprises a simple diagrammatic showing of how the presentinvention may be used in combination with browser plug in software tominimize unauthorized viewing of email messages;

[0030]FIG. 11 provides more detail for illustrating the process of FIG.10;

[0031]FIG. 12 shows details of sender plug-in software process for emailtransmission that is more secure than that shown in FIG. 11;

[0032]FIG. 13 shows details of the process of FIG. 12 at a third partysite;

[0033]FIG. 14 shows details of the process of FIG. 12 at a recipientsite;

[0034]FIG. 15 shows the process of FIG. 12 as applied to a changeableinternal database;

[0035]FIG. 16 illustrates a an example of a customized button bar thatmay be generated using the MOT script in accordance with the teachingsof this invention;

[0036]FIG. 17 summarizes the software installation process of a clientusers system that wishes to access the present invention:

[0037]FIG. 18 provides a graphic description of the procedure used by aclient in testing the installed software by selection a location fromwhich to access the components of the present invention;

[0038]FIG. 19 further illustrates the network test and client systemupdate procedure;

[0039]FIG. 20 illustrates the system interaction for providing clientregistration with the inventive system; and

[0040]FIG. 21 provides additional illustrative material for theinteraction of the client systems software and the components of theinventive system in obtaining general and anonymous access to thesystem.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0041] The entire contents of Provisional Patent Application Serial No.60/050,186, entitled: “Multi-User Internet Dispatch System,” filed onJun. 19, 1997, including appendices, are incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

[0042] It should be noted that the present invention applies to anynetwork or interconnected set of networks. However, since the Internetis a well known example of an interconnected set of networks, Internetterminology and interaction examples will be used in the explanation ofthis invention.

[0043] The present invention solves all or some of at least tenproblems:

[0044] 1 Eliminates the need for a computer user to configure andreconfigure computer networking software for network access through amultiplicity of ISPs and Network Access Providers (NAP) (companies whichown the telephone networks and modem banks such as AT&T, GTE, UUNet,PSI, etc.).

[0045] 2 Allows a Network Re-seller such as an Internet Service Providerto offer network access via a multiplicity of Network Access Providersbased on cost, location, availability, reliability, etc.

[0046] 3 Allows a Network Re-seller to balance network loads through amultiplicity of Network Access Providers and across a multiplicity ofnetwork computer servers.

[0047] 4 Eliminates,the need for a computer user to know or configurenetwork access telephone numbers or network access protocolidentification numbers.

[0048] 5 Eliminates the need for a computer user or mobile computer userto reconfigure remote network access software to connect to a networkfrom a remote location.

[0049] 6 Allows multiple users to use a single computer each with theirown unique networking attributes and unique network identity.

[0050] 7 Allows separate and distinct identifications (ID) and passwordsfor different services and network functions such as PAP IDs and PAPpassword, Email ID and password, etc.

[0051] 8 Provides a user with true network anonymity by assigningindependent non-user specific identifications and passwords for suchthings as PAP authentication, FTP and Email logins, News Server logins,and network server logins.

[0052] 9 Provides Email anonymity by transmitting and receiving allemail through a third party (broker) wherein, if appropriate, aliasesmay be used for all un-encrypted data and these aliases may be changedperiodically by the system in a manner transparent to the user.

[0053] 10 Eliminates third party email relay (SPAMMING) by transparentlyauthenticating each user-system prior to giving access to a sendmailserver.

[0054] This invention relates to network connections, such as theInternet, and allows systems to be independently, transparently anddynamically connected or reconnected to a network based upon any numberof attributes such as user or group identity, cost, availability,reliability, etc. Further this invention supports many types of physicalconnections such as telephone dial-up connections, ISDN connections,Ethernet, and other local area networking connections. It should benoted that while Internet terms such as ISP are used throughout thisdescription, the invention is operable with any network or portion ofany network and thus terms such as NSP (Network Service Provider) havebeen coined for use in the claims to identify similar or analogoussystems and devices.

[0055] A traditional network connection requires someone skilled in theart of computer networking to setup and configure both network relatedhardware (such as modems or Local Area Network cards (Ethernet,Token-ring or other cards) and network software. The inventioneliminates the need for such network configuration skills.

[0056] The invention configures and reconfigures network relatedsoftware to support multiple users with multiple network protocolsand/or multiple networks using the same protocol without the need of anycomputer network configuration skills and further allows theconfiguration to be changed or modified dynamically without any userintervention.

[0057] The principles of the present invention and their advantages arebest understood by referring to the illustrated embodiment depicted inFIGS. 1-21 of the drawings, in which like numbers designate like parts.

[0058] The invention includes software which is sometimes referred to asmiddle-ware because it resides between an electronic device operatingsystem and the end-users interface. The inventive software has all theattributes of middle-ware as it configures and manages networkcommunication equipment such as modems and Ethernet cards, networkprotocols such as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP), and the associated interfaces between the communicationequipment, network protocol and the computer's operating system for eachindividual user or groups of users.

[0059] Now referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a plurality ofInternet service providers (ISP1 through ISPx) 102 a, 102 b connected toa network 100 (sometimes referred to as the Internet). As will beappreciated, an Internet service provider (ISP) provides access for oneor more users 110 a, 110 b to the Internet 100 through a physicalinterface. The term “internet service provider” includes network accessproviders (NAPs) and Network Service Providers (NSPs) as well. Ingeneral terms, a user 110 connects to the ISP 102 via a communicationslink and the ISP 102 provides connection to the Internet 100. As will beappreciated by many users of the Internet, the ISP typically has manymodems accessible from a limited number of telephone numbers. Each ofthese modems has an assigned internet protocol (IP) address and normallyan assigned DNS name. Such assigned names and (IP) addresses will looksomething like “1cust239.tnt.orl1.da.uu.net” and [208.250.77.239]respectively. When a user contacts the ISP, the user is connected to thenext available modem and the IP address of that modem becomes the IPaddress of that user for the remainder of that connection session. Theuser 110 may include a single computer, group of computers, local areanetwork, or a larger network connected to the ISP 102 via acommunications link. However, in most applications, the user 110 willinclude a single user requesting access time to the Internet 100.

[0060] The present invention provides a means for transmittingISP-specific access information to a user 110 via a communications link(preferably, the Internet 100) that allows the user 110 to gain accessto the Internet 100 through a selected one of the plurality of ISPs 102.

[0061] To begin the process of the present invention, the user 110installs (downloads) a client dispatch application program 200 (see FIG.2) that furnishes the user 110 with one or more ISP access telephonenumbers, one or more valid test and Registration Password AuthenticationProtocol (PAP) identification (ID) numbers, and a valid PAP passwordassociated with a predetermined one of the ISPs 102. The client dispatchapplication 200 will be described in more detail further below. Theaccess information allows the user 110 to authenticate the user's rightto connect to the Internet via the predetermined ISP 102. The accessinformation mentioned comprises the previously mentioned accesstelephone number, the PAP ID, the PAP password and additionalISP-specific information required by the user 110 to gain access to theInternet 100 via the predetermined ISP 102 (collectively, ISP-specificconfiguration information) is initially provided by the client dispatchapplication 200. In addition, the client dispatch application 200provides basic configuration and initialization information(installation and configuration) to the user's computer to configure andmanage the network communication equipment, network protocols and theassociated interfaces needed to develop the capability to access theInternet 100, regardless of the particular ISP.

[0062] After the client dispatch application 200 is installed and theinitial ISP-specific information is known, the client dispatchapplication 200 causes the user 110 to automatically transmit accessinformation to the predetermined ISP 102 (ISP1 102 a or ISPX 102 b). Theline of communication through which the access information istransmitted to the predetermined ISP 102 by the user 110 (USER1 110 a orUSERX 110 b) is identified by the reference numerals 111 a, 111 b, 115a, 115 b, depending on the particular user (USER1 110 a or USERX 110 b)and the particular ISP (ISP1 102 a or ISPX 102 b). Upon receipt of theaccess information, the ISP “authenticates” the user 110. The ISP 102checks to see whether the PAP ID and PAP password received from the useris valid. It will be understood that the authentication processperformed by the ISP 102 utilizes one or more appropriate methods (suchas Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS)) which arenormally associated with an authentication server running a database atthe ISP, Network Service Provider (NSP) or the NAP. If the PAP ID and/orPAP password are not valid, the ISP 102 will disconnect the user ornotify the user that the PAP ID and/or PAP password is invalid. Ifvalid, the user 110 and the ISP 102 create a point-to-point protocol(PPP) (i.e., communications connection) which is identified in FIG. 1 byreference numerals 112 a, 112 b, 116 a, 116 b, depending on theparticular user (USER1 110 a or USERX 110 b) and the particular ISP(ISP1 102 a or ISPX 102 b). The PPP allows the ISP 102 totransmit/receive information to/from the user 110. As a result, the user110 is given access to the Internet 100 and the ISP generates aninternet protocol (IP) address to uniquely identify the user on theInternet 100. The particular IP address assigned to the user 110 dependson the IP addresses that are available and assigned to the particularISP 102 to which the user 110 is connected. An IP address is presently32 bits and is normally represented with four decimal numbers eachranging from 0 to 255 (e.g. 128.54.28.200) where each decimal numberrepresents one byte of the 32 bits.

[0063] In accordance with the present invention, an Internet serviceprovider access service or ASP (Access Service Provider) 106 isconnected to the Internet 100. The external location, or physicaladdress of the access service 106 is defined by a predetermined andunique address (i.e., IP address). After the user 110 gains access tothe Internet 100 via one of the ISPs 102, the client dispatchapplication 200 resident in the user's computer transmits a data messageto the access service 106 through the Internet 100 using thepredetermined address of the access service 106. This data message issent via a path identified as TCP/IP 120 or TCP/IP 122, depending on theparticular ISP 102 to which the user 110 is connected for access to theInternet 100. The communications link protocol used for Internet 100communications is defined as Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) and is well known in the art. As will be appreciated,other network communications protocols and standards may be used duringthe present or in the future by the present system invention due to theflexibility provided in the use of multiple databases to store varioustypes of data. The data message transmitted from the user 10 andreceived by the access service 106 contains information about the user,including the user's identification and address, current PAP ID, timestamp information, and version information of the client dispatchapplication 200 operating on the user's computer, etc. In response tothe user information received, the access service 106 transmits anaccess information data message that includes access information for aparticular ISP 102. The access information is specific to a dial-intelephone number of a particular ISP 102 and, upon receipt by the user110, allows the user to gain access to the Internet 100 via thatparticular ISP 102. The ISP-specific access information includes an ISPphone number (for dial-in to the ISP), a PAP ID for the ISP 102, and aPAP password for the ISP 102, and may also include default routinginformation (i.e., gateway address information), default directoryinformation (including domain name server information), sub-protocolsfor the PPP for the ISP 102, and configuration information for thehardware (i.e. modem) of the ISP 102 (to configure the user's modem),such as data compression information and speed. The ISP-specificinformation may also include service option defaults such as Email IDs,POP protocols and browser information. The PAP ID may or may not be sentdepending on the current PAP ID information transmitted from the user110 to the access service in the data message (e.g., if the current PAPID and the new PAP ID are the same, a new PAP ID does not need to besent).

[0064] After receiving the ISP-specific access information, the clientdispatch application 200 may disconnect the user 110 from the currentISP 102 and automatically dial and reconnect the user 110 to the desiredISP 102 associated with the ISP-specific access information. As will beappreciated, the desired ISP 102 may be another ISP or may be the sameISP to which the user was previously connected, depending on theattributes of the particular ISP desired to be used for access to theInternet 100. If the ISP phone number (for dial-in to the ISP) and a PAPID received with the new access information, refer to the same ISP, theclient dispatch application 200 will not disconnect the user 100 and theuser's session will continue uninterrupted.

[0065] The access information data message includes the informationnecessary (PAP ID, PAP password, and other information if needed) toaccess a desired ISP 102 and, may include information for a plurality ofdesired ISPs 102, or multiple PAP IDs and PAP passwords for a desiredsingle ISP. It will be understood that more than one access informationdata message packet may be utilized and transmitted, each packetcontaining a portion of the information packet or each may containaccess information for a specific ISP 102.

[0066] The access service 106 offers Internet 100 access to the user 110via a plurality of ISPs 102 based on cost, location, availability,reliability, etc. Based on the geographic location of the user, theaccess service 106 identifies, to the user 110, one or more ISPs 102that provide local access availability (via local telephone numbers ortoll free numbers) and provide the user 110 with information needed toaccess one of the identified ISPs (using the ISP-specific accessinformation). For desired low cost operation, the access service 106identifies the ISP 102 that provides the lowest cost access servicethrough which the user 110 may access the Internet 100 from theidentified ISP 102 at the user's location. For the reliabilityoperation, the access service 106 identifies one or more ISPs 102 thatprovide the highest reliability of connecting through which the user 110may access the Internet 100 from the identified ISPs 102 at the user'slocation. For the availability operation, the access service 106periodically receives availability information from each of theplurality of ISPs 102. In response to this information, the accessservice 106 identifies one or more ISPs 102 that provide the highestavailability through which the user 110 may access the Internet 100 fromthe identified ISPs 102.

[0067] As will be appreciated, the location operation, reliabilityoperation, and availability operation may each provide to the user 110the identity of multiple ISPs 102 or multiple dial-in numbers for aparticular ISP 102 whereby the user 110 will attempt connection in orderof priority. For example, the user 110 may attempt access to a first ISP102 contained in a list of multiple ISPs 102 that have been identifiedbased on availability or reliability. If a connection is not successfulwith the first ISP 102, the user 110 will next try a second ISP 102 inthe list, and so on, until a connection made. In another mode ofoperation example, the user 110 may attempt access to a first ISP 102utilizing a first dial-in number contained in a list of multiple dial-innumbers for the first ISP 102 that have been identified based onavailability or reliability. If a connection is not successful with thefirst dial-in number, the user 110 will next try a second dial-in numberin the list, and so on, until a connection is made. Further acombination of multiple ISPs 102 and multiple dial-in numbers may beused.

[0068] Now referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a block diagram ofthe access service 106 connected to the Internet 100 and a block diagramof the user 110 connected to the Internet 100 via the ISP 102. The user110 may be a computer system that includes the client dispatchapplication 200 and the computer's operating system 202, as well as aregistry or initialization file(s) 212, a physical adaptor file(s) 214,and a protocol file(s) 216. The files 212, 214, 216 are operating systemfiles (system configuration files) that provide the user 110 with systemconfiguration information for supplying the basic capabilities needed tosuccessfully connect the user 110 to a network, such as the Internet100. The client dispatch application 200 correctly configures and setsthe system configuration files 212, 214, 216 with the necessary systemconfiguration information, including network protocols, adapterinformation, IP addresses, domain name system (DNS) server addresses,gateway addresses, other operating system binding functions, dynamichost control protocol options, and any other system options. As will beappreciated, the system configuration information necessary for the user110 to access the Internet 100 is well known in the art.

[0069] The user 110 also includes several databases for storinginformation, including a phone database 204, a network services database206, a button bar database 208, and a user database 210. As will beappreciated, the databases 204, 206, 208, 210 may be combined into asingle database, may be separate, and/or may be relational. Generally,the client dispatch application 200 includes the databases, or generatesthe databases and stores pre-loaded information into the databases uponinstallation of the client dispatch application 200 on the user 110computer.

[0070] The phone database 204 includes one or more dial-up telephonenumbers for the access location(s) of each of the ISPs 102. Each dial-upnumber entry includes associated information including on-off fielddata, state (or a toll free number), city, dial-up telephone number,type of modems supported (analog or digital), whether the number isavailable for registration, identity of the ISP that owns the dial-innumber (ID for provider), sequence number (order for putting number in aspecific area). Some of the foregoing data is access information. Anexample of some of the contents of the phone database 204 and its dataentries is set forth in Appendix A which is hereby incorporated byreference.

[0071] The network services database 206 includes access information foreach dial-in number contained within the phone database 204. Each of thestored dial-in numbers is associated with an ISP 102. The accessinformation for each dial-in number (for a particular ISP) includes oneor more PAP IDs, one or more PAP passwords, default routing information(i.e., gateway address information), default directory information(including domain name server information), sub-protocols for the PPP,and configuration information for the hardware (i.e. modem of the ISP)to configure the user's modem, such as data compression information andspeed. The network services database 206 may also include service optiondefaults such as Email IDs and the POP protocols and browser informationassociated with the dial-in number. The network services database 206also includes the basic configuration and initialization informationnecessary to configure and manage the network communications equipment,network protocols and associated interfaces for the user 110 for basiccommunications between the user 110 and the Internet 100. In addition,the network services database 206 includes information relating to thetype of service (type of account) requested by the user 110, such as the“lowest cost service”, the “highest reliability service”, the “mostreliable service”, or combinations thereof, plan pricing anddescriptions, and includes information identifying one or more primaryprocesses to be performed by the client dispatch application 200. Aswill be appreciated, some of the information in the network servicesdatabase 206 and the phone database 208 may overlap. An example of thenetwork services database 206 and its data entries is set forth inAppendix A which is hereby incorporated by reference.

[0072] The button bar database 208 includes information related tobutton bar creation and modification. All functions may be initiatedthrough the human interface—a Toolbar (also described in the art as abutton bar and basic examples of which may be found in many present daycomputer applications). The Toolbar of the present invention has someunique properties as it can be dynamically changed or updated via aPinger process or a MOT script. As defined in this application and aswill be described in more detail later, a Pinger process comprises anentity that acts transparently as a “services” coordinator to provideand/or administer the following:

[0073] 1. Heartbeat service to help maintain network connectivity with aclient.

[0074] 2. Authentication services that securely authenticate clientaccess to email, commerce, and other public and private network serversand services.

[0075] 3. Update services that can perform client software, database,and maintenance services during periods of inactivity.

[0076] The Pinger entity, as suggested above, has, as one of itsfunctions, the responsibility of providing database updates to theclient user. When a MOT script is used, it can be part of an E-mailmessage, an HTTP web document download and so forth, which transparentlyautomates the Toolbar update. The Toolbar can be integrated with tickertape which can spawn MOT scripts, URLs, or execute programs. EachToolbar button may be programmed with a function in the button bardatabase 210. The Toolbar reads a plurality, for this example five, ofattributes from the button bar database 210:

[0077] 1. Caption—Title or Button Name.

[0078] 2. Enabled—Enables or disables the button function

[0079] 3. Execution Type—This attribute supports the following types andfurther determines if the fifth attribute read by the toolbar would be“Execute File” (5a) or “URL” (5b)

[0080] DDE to a URL

[0081] DDE to a URL without going online

[0082] Launch a Program or Script

[0083] Launch a Program or Script and wait to complete before continuing

[0084] Go online and then launch a program or Script

[0085] Change Preferences

[0086] Change Passwords

[0087] Display Account Information

[0088] Set Dialing Properties

[0089] Execute a MOT script

[0090] Jump to another Tab or Button on the Toolbar

[0091] Reload the Toolbar's Tabs and/or Buttons

[0092] 4. Hint—Button functionality description

[0093] 5a. Execute File—Command line of file to be executed

[0094] 5b. URL—URL for a browser to open whether remote or local

[0095] When a user clicks on one of the Toolbar functions or the Tickertape, the appropriate procedure is started. For example, if a button isprogrammed to go to the USA Today (button Caption) web site theExecution type would be set to “DDE to a URL” and the “URL” would be setto something similar to http://www.usatoday.com/ and the ‘Hint” would beset to something similar to “Open to XXXXXXXXX Web site for the latestnews!”.

[0096] As will be appreciated, a MOT script defines how to build abutton bar using the button bar database 210 and its database entries.The MOT script is typically associated with a Web page and when the user110 clicks on the Web page, the MOT script associated with the Web pageis read back by the client dispatch application 200. The client dispatchapplication 200 uses the particular MOT script and the button bardatabase 210 information and builds the button bar automaticallyaccording to the MOT script specifications. An example of the button bardatabase 208 and its data entries is set forth in Appendix A which ishereby incorporated by reference.

[0097] The user database 210 includes information related to the user110, such as name, address, phone numbers, billing information, Email IDand Email password, type of account, and unique PAP ID and PAP password,if applicable. It will be understood that the user database 210 may bemerged into the network services database 206. An example of the userdatabase 210 and its data entries is set forth in Appendix A which ishereby incorporated by reference.

[0098] The access service 106 is connected to the Internet 100 and isdefined by a predetermined and unique address (i.e., IP address). Theaccess service 106 includes one or more network servers/databases 220.It will be understood that access service 106 includes a computer systemhaving one or more processors, memory, and support hardware (all notshown in this figure) for processing and storing information and datacommunications. The network/databases 220 store information relating tothe user(s) 110, including the same information that is (or wouldnormally be) in the user database 208, and also includes session keys(transaction keys) billing data, connection history data, ISP-specificaccess information, and information about what procedures a user 110 hasperformed, and the like. Specific functions of the access service 106have been described in the foregoing and will be described in moredetail below. The Pinger entity may be a part of the access serviceprovider 106 or it may be separate. For the present discussion, it willbe assumed to be part of the access service provider 106.

[0099] After the user 110 connects to the Internet 100 via apredetermined ISP 102, the client dispatch application 200 dispatches aninitial “pinger” message to the access service 106 via the Internet 100.Included within the pinger message is header information that includesthe current user ID, account owner ID, PAP ID, the current IP addressassigned to the user 110, Group ID, the users system's current time,database (204, 206, 208, 210) revisions levels, client dispatchapplication 200 and other related software revision levels.

[0100] All communications between the client dispatch application 200and the access service 106 take place through a process identified asthe Pinger. The Pinger provides secure and unsecure periodicbidirectional communication between the user 110 and the access service106. The functions of the Pinger are as follows:

[0101] Read, Write or Update any entry in any of the databases 204, 206,208, 210 of the user 110 and any of the databases 220 of the accessservice 106 and further initiate a secondary transmission whenappropriate.

[0102] Execute a program or script with command line entries ifappropriate.

[0103] Save a file or script and further initiate the execution of thefile or script when appropriate.

[0104] Continue Transaction.

[0105] With these functions, the client dispatch application 200 canrequest database updates or save files for execution later, and theaccess service 106 can initiate events, database updates, or save filesfor execution later. The Pinger process also provides a “heartbeat”mechanism to prevent the premature disconnection of the user 110 fromthe network by an ISP 102. That is, many ISPs 102 have a modeminactivity timeout interval that disconnects users after some shortinterval of time if there has been no network activity during thatinterval of time. The heartbeat function is programmable and, in thepreferred embodiment, is set at five minutes during the user's firstthree hours of connection time and increases by five minutes each halfhour thereafter. In the heartbeat function, the client dispatchapplication 200 transmits the user's ID to the access service 106.

[0106] The pinger is initiated by the client dispatch application 200upon connection to the network 100. The client dispatch application 200transmits header information to the access server 106 using the IPaddress of the access server 106. The header information includes thecurrent user ID, account owner ID, PAP ID, the current IP addressassigned to the user 110, Group ID, the users system's current time,database (204, 206, 208, 210) revisions levels, and client dispatchapplication 200 and other related software revision levels. With thisinformation, the access server 106 determines whether a user 110 ismaking two connections while only paying for one and thus needs to bedisconnected, or is a user 110 that needs a database or file update. TheContinue Transaction function provides a mechanism to partially transmitdata and commands over multiple sessions (successive connections by theuser 110 to the network 100) without having to restart the transactionfrom the beginning.

[0107] While the pinger process (transparent to the user) allows theclient dispatch application 200 and the access service 106 to interactand download database updates (or other information) to the user 110,there is an alternative way to provide the updates to the databases,etc. at the request of the user 110. The access service 106 may providea Web page whereby when the user 110 clicks on the Web page, a MOTscript and other data associated with the Web page is transmitted fromthe Web page site to the client dispatch application 106. This gives theuser 110 the capability to request a data update (or to receive otherinformation). Alternatively a MOT script and other data can betransmitted via an email message, an FTP (file transfer procedure) siteor other similar networking storage and transport mechanism to theclient dispatch application.

[0108] The Script Language used by the Pinger and elsewhere in thisapplication for patent is designated by the term MOT (see FIG. 8). MOTis not, however, an acronym for anything meaningful. The script languageis an interpretive language which is stored in an encrypted file fromwhich the interpreter reads to initiate the MOT client dispatchapplication. The MOT client dispatch application can read and writedatabase (db) entries, Operating System initialization file entries (INIand Registry Files), and ASCII Text files. Further, the MOT clientdispatch application can spawn executable programs, network connection,AWK scripts, and other MOT scripts.

[0109] Now referring to FIGS. 3 through 7, there is illustrated theprocess of the client dispatch application 200. The flow diagrams ofFIGS. 3-7 are representations of closed-loop programming (structuredprogramming). The client dispatch application 200 performs five primaryprocedures or functions as set forth in the CASE block. These includethe installation, registration, regular use, manual update, andmulti-dial procedures. Within the multi-dial procedure are severalsub-functions defined as the low cost, reliability, location,availability, busy-sequence, and single dial/multi-login sub-functionsshown and explained subsequently in connection with FIG. 7. The clientdispatch application 200 manages the procedures based upon data from oneor more databases of the access service 106 or other inputs receivedfrom the access service 106, the user's databases 204, 206, 208, 210,and/or the user's computer operating system files. It will be understoodthat databases and database information may be encrypted to prevent auser from tampering with entries contained therein.

[0110] Now referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a flow diagram ofan installation procedure 300 of the client dispatch application 200.The procedure 300 starts by reading information from the networkservices database 206. The network services database 206 forms part ofthe software package which is loaded into a network access device, suchas the user 110 (computer). The network services database 206 includesbasic configuration and initialization information necessary toconfigure and manage the network communication equipment, networkprotocols and the associated interfaces between the communicationequipment and network protocols and the computer's operating system.

[0111] After the network services database 204 is read, the user'soperating system files (which in the case of a Windows operating systemcomprises Registry and INI files, Protocol files, and Physical Adapterfiles) are examined to determine if any networking options have beeninstalled and whether or not the files, if installed, are correct andconfigured properly as part of the “No Protocol” decision block. If noProtocol or Adapter has been installed, the “True” path will be followedwhereby the Installation function will configure the Adapter andnecessary Protocol to successfully connect the user 100 to a networksuch as the Internet 100. If the Protocol or Adapter that is installedis misconfigured, the “False” path will be used whereby the Installationfunction will reconfigure the Adapter and necessary Protocol tosuccessfully connect the user 100 to a network such as the Internet 100.As part of the configuration process, it may be noted that the correctconfiguration for utilization of the TCP/IP Protocol would includeconfiguring and setting the proper Operating System Registry and INI(initialization) files with the necessary Protocol configurationinformation in instances where the operating system is a version ofwindows. Such information includes: IP addresses whether statically ordynamically assigned, Domain Name System (DNS) name server addresseswhether statically or dynamically assigned, Gateway Addresses whetherstatically or dynamically assigned, Other operating system Bindingfunctions, Dynamic Host Control Protocol options, Windows InternetNaming Service (WINS) options whether statically or dynamicallyassigned, and the assignment of such Protocol functions to be utilizedby the appropriate Adapter. The function of configuring or reconfiguringis executed near the beginning of each of the five primary procedural(300, 400, 500, 600, 700) tasks of the client dispatch application 200to ensure successful operation of a network connection even for thoseinstances where a computer user accidentally misconfigures their systemand thereby makes networking inoperable.

[0112] After the successful configuration of both the Adapter and theProtocol, the procedure 300 proceeds to the “Which Adapter” decisionblock. The appropriate adapter is utilized which is either the adapterpre-programmed into the network services database 206 (if available) orif there is only one Adapter then it will be used. If the Adapter is aModem, the “Modem” path will be followed to read from the networkservices database 204 to determine if the user 110 chooses a dial-inlocation under the case of “User Look-up” or if the modem shall beprogrammed to dial a “Pre-Defined” dial-in phone number reference in thenetwork services database 204 and stored in the phone database 204. If adatabase entry in the network services database 206 is set to allow theuser 110 to choose a dial-in location, then the user 110 chooses alocation based on Country, State or Province, and City in accordancewith the “User Picks Dial-In Location” block. After the user 110 selectsthe proper dial-in location, the installation procedure 300 reads fromthe phone database 204 to determine the dial-in phone number to use. Ifa given location has multiple dial-in phone numbers, a dial-in number isselected based upon attributes read from the network services database206 (and/or the phone database 204). Such attributes includeinstallation dial-in numbers (dial-in phone numbers which are onlyavailable during installation or testing). Although not pertinent to theinstallation procedure 300, other attributes of phone numbers appearingin the phone database 204 include Registration Dial-in Numbers (phonenumbers and locations which appear to a user during registration),Sequence Numbers (a prioritized list of phone numbers which shall betried in sequential order to produce the highest probability ofconnection), Available ISP numbers (phone numbers of a given ISP'smodems), Currently Valid Numbers (phone numbers which are currentlyvalid for use by a given users), or any combination of theaforementioned.

[0113] If a value in the network services database 206 is set for theuser 110 to use a predefined dial-in number (such as an 800 typetoll-free number) the client dispatch application 200 will read theappropriate predefined phone number entry from the phone database 204.After the client dispatch application 200 has determined the properdial-in phone number, whether user selected or pre-defined, the user'smodem is initialized and dialing occurs, as set forth in the “Dial &Connect” block. If the modem is busy, it will either continue to retrythe same phone number or initiate a multi-dial procedure 700 (as setforth in FIG. 7) depending on the outcome of the “Multi-dial Mode?”decision block (from an entry in the network database services 206). Ifthe “False (Retry)” path is followed, the same number is dialed untilthe user 110 “gives up”. If a Multi-Dial mode “True” path is followed,based upon the entry in the network services database 204, themulti-dial procedure 700 is initiated and other dial-in numbers will betried to gain access to the network. The multi-dial procedure 700 is oneof the five primary procedures of the client dispatch application 200and is explained in more detail in connection with FIG. 7.

[0114] Once a connection is made, the “False” path from the “Busy?”decision block is followed and communication with the access service 106begins by sending an installation PAP ID and PAP password (read from thenetwork services database 206) to the access service 106 for transparentlogin authentication as shown by the “Get Information From Server”block. Once the login has occurred, communication with the accessservice 106 is established, and transfer of data begins. The datatransferred during the installation procedure 300 may contain some basicsystem information about the user's computer system, the type ofconnection being used and the location from which the connection hasoccurred. Once this information is received at the access service 106,the access service 106 sends appropriate information back to the clientdispatch application 200. Such information may include updates to thephone database 204 including “Location” addition or subtractions, phonenumber changes, and updates to the network services database 206including ISP additions and subtractions, group, user, or multiple userspecific configuration, DNS and IP information, etc. Updates to thedatabases 204, 206, 208, 210 which reside on the user's computer canoccur transparently to the user 110 whenever the user 110 is connectedto the Internet 100; thereby ensuring that the user's network relatedinformation is always current and accurate. Any updates received fromthe access service 106 are written to the appropriate database (i.e.network services database 206, phone database 204, or others) by theclient dispatch application 200. The client dispatch application 200also updates the network services database 206 to reflect “installationcomplete”. Thus, the client dispatch application 200 is informed thatthe next execution “Case” to start is “Registration” as will be shown inFIG. 4.

[0115] At this point, the dial-in location attributes (Installationdial-in numbers, Registration Dial-in Numbers, Sequence Numbers,Available ISP numbers, Currently Valid Numbers) provide controlmechanisms to ensure that a user 110 receives the appropriate level ofservice for which they are subscribed such as “the lowest cost service”,“the highest reliability service”, “the most available service”, orcombinations thereof. Further, these updated and database storedattributes allow for remote testing of the network communications (fullconnection TCP/IP test to the Internet 100), the user's system for basicconfiguration, database integrity, network load balancing and thereduction of fraud by dynamic control of phone number validity.

[0116] If the Adapter used to connect to the network is a Local AreaNetwork device such as an Ethernet card, the “LAN” path is followed fromthe “Which Adapter” decision block. In this situation, oncecommunication with the access service 106 is established, transfer ofdata and updates begin as described in the paragraphs above.

[0117] Now referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a flow diagram ofthe registration procedure 400 of the client dispatch application 200.The procedure 400, as all primary procedures, starts by reading thenetwork services database 204 to determine the appropriate execution“Case”, and in this case, the registration procedure 400. Theregistration procedure 400 starts by reading the network servicesdatabase 206 to gather the necessary information, such as which Adaptorand Protocol to use and proceeds to configure and initialize theappropriate networking functions to start the user registration process.A “Which Adapter” decision block includes the two paths of “Modem” and“LAN”. After a determination is made as to which Adapter and Protocol touse, the process proceeds to the “(Re)Configure Adapter Protocol” blockto configure and initialize the appropriate networking functions tostart the user registration procedure 400 (i.e. configuration processfor the user's computer).

[0118] The registration procedure 400 comprises several forms (pop-upforms) into which the user 110 enters specific information about theuser 110. Such information typically will include Name, Address, PhoneNumbers, Credit Card and/or Banking Information, Referral Information(if available), Personal Security information (like: mother's maidenname), Birthdate, and Preferred E-mail Identity and Preferred E-mailDomain Choice. The registration information for each user 110 is storedin the network services database 106 and/or a user specific database210, as well as information about the user's system and revision levelsof the client dispatch application 200 and databases (204, 206, 208,210). Upon completion of the new user registration forms as indicated bythe “Update DBs with New User Information” block, the client dispatchapplication 200 initiates communications with the access service 106 asdescribed earlier. The adapter used, as determined by the lower most“Which Adapter” decision block, will be the adapter determined and usedduring the installation process. Once communication with the accessservice 106 begins, the client dispatch application sends all theinformation that was added or updated into the network services database206 (or user database 210) of the user 110 to the access service 106 asindicated by the “Send Information To Server” block. The access server106 transmits the received information plus additional information, suchas one or more user assigned PAP IDs and PAP passwords, Email IDs andEmail Passwords, back to the client dispatch application 200 forcomparison and verification of the information that was sent asindicated by the “Get Information From Server” block. If the informationreturned is not identical to the information which was sent, the clientdispatch application will resend the information again to the accessservice 106 along the path commencing with the “Notify User ofError-Retry” block. This process will continue until all transmittedinformation from the client dispatch application 200 to the accessservice 106 matches all information returned to the client dispatchapplication 200 from the access service 106 or when a maximum retryvalue is reached in accordance with the “Quit?” decision block. In thepreferred embodiment, the maximum retry value is five. If the clientdispatch application 200 reaches a maximum retry value, an error messageis sent to the user 110 notifying the user that an Error has occurredand to try reconnecting or registering again. This error messagecomprises a part of the “True” path output of the “Quit?” decisionblock.

[0119] It will be understood that registration procedure 400 may bedesigned to have an alternate process of prompting the user 110 to usean alternate Adapter or Protocol and then retry where such an alternateprocess may be deemed appropriate.

[0120] If other users (sub-users) are permitted to access the networkunder this initial user's authority, such as other family members, theregistration process for these other users can be started during aregular use procedure 500 described in connection with FIG. 5. Uponcompletion of a user's initial registration, the user's network accessdisplay device will display an Electronic Registration Number (ERN)which, with other personal security information, can be used later torefresh a system as described below.

[0121] The registration procedure 400 also allows users registered withthe access service 106 to temporarily use a computer or other networkaccess device or permanently use a secondary network access device byusing a refresh function which bypasses the standard registration formscreens by asking the user if they have already registered. If the userhas previously registered, the refresh process of the registrationprocedure 400 will connect, communicate with the access service 106 anddownload all the user information sent during the user's initialregistration and the client dispatch application 200 will update theappropriate databases (204, 206, 208, 210) on the user's network accessdevices storage system.

[0122] Now referring to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a flow diagram of aregular use procedure 500 of the client dispatch application 200. Theregular use procedure 500 is enabled after a user 110 has both installedclient dispatch application 200 on a particular computer system or othernetwork access device and registered with the access service 106.

[0123] The regular use procedure 500 functions to connect a user 110 tothe network 100 using a login and password access which is transparentto the user 110. This is accomplished by reading the network servicesdatabase 206 for login information such as the user PAP ID and PAPpassword as shown in the “Read NS.db” block. After reading the necessaryinformation from the network services database 206 and prior to the user110 logging onto the network 100, the user 110 is given an opportunityto change the user's dial-in Location if the user 110 is using a modemas an Adapter, as illustrated by the “Change Location” decision block.If the Adapter is a modem, and the user 110 desires to change locations,the user 110 is presented with a “chooses a location” form that may beidentical to one seen by the user 110 during registration. The “choosesa location” form allows the user 110 to select a local dial-in locationfrom pull down menu selections based on Country, State or Province, andCity selections for a given ISP 102 for which the user PAP ID and PAPpassword are valid. After the user 110 selects the proper dial-inlocation, the phone database 204 is read to determine what dial-in phonenumber to use.

[0124] If a given location has multiple dial-in phone numbers, a dial-innumber is selected based upon attributes that are read from the phonedatabase, user db, network services database 206 or any combinationthereof as part of the “Dial & Connect” block. As discussed elsewhere,and in particular in connection with FIG. 3, such attributes includeInstallation dial-in numbers (dial-in phone numbers which are onlyavailable during Installation or testing), Registration Dial-in Numbers(phone numbers and locations which appear to a user duringregistration), Sequence Numbers (a prioritized list of phone numberswhich shall be tried in sequential order to produce the highestprobability of connection), Available ISP numbers (phone numbers of agiven ISP's modems), Currently Valid Numbers (phone numbers which arecurrently valid for use by a given users), or any combination of theaforementioned.

[0125] After the user 110 establishes a connection to the access service106, a “pinger” function is initiated as discussed previously. Thepinger function causes the client dispatch application 200 to transmitheader information to the access service 106, as set forth in the “SendInformation To Server (Pinger)” block. The header information mayinclude a Unique Identification string for the user (user ID, PAP ID,etc.), a unique computer identification string (IP address, etc.), timestamp information, and revision information for the client dispatchapplication 200 and databases 204, 206, 208, 210, as described earlier.After receipt, the access service 106 reviews the header information todetermine what, if any, updates are required to be made to the userclient's dispatch application, databases, or network access devicesoperating system. Such updates may include: new dial-in locations, newidentification information such as PAP IDs, network authenticationpasswords such as PAP passwords, other IDs, other passwords, change ofphone numbers, change of area codes, low cost ISP, dial-in locationpriority sequence numbers, or any combination thereof, or any otherinformation relating to gaining access to the ISP 102. If any updatesare required, these are supplied by the access service 106 and anynecessary updates will take place transparent (automatic while the useris logged on) to the user 110 as part of the “True” process pathemanating from the “Transparent Update Required?” decision block. Ifsuch updates require user intervention, such as rebooting the user'scomputer, the user 110 will be notified prior to the update and/or priorto a reboot as part of the “Notify User to Restart” block. Updates whichrequire a lot of time, may span multiple log-ins (to the network 100) bythe user 110 with partial updates being performed until the fullcompletion of the update. The partial updates will take place when theusers system is connected but idle and/or during a “pinger/heartbeat”function.

[0126] Now referring to FIG. 6, there is illustrated a flow diagram of amanual update procedure 600 of the client dispatch application 200. Themanual update procedure 600 provides a mechanism for a user 110 tomanually recover, change, modify or update the client dispatchapplication 200 and the databases 204, 206, 208, 210. This capability isuseful for ISPs managing customers with billing issues, as well as forservicing customers with special system configuration issues.

[0127] The manual update procedure 600 initiates and makes a networkconnection using a special set of log-in information defined herein asthe “Manual Update PAP ID and PAP password” (the manual update PAP IDand PAP password, including the Installation, Multi-dial and Test PAPIDs and PAP passwords are incorporated into the user's installed clientdispatch application 200 as part of the network services database 206and are not easily accessible to the user 110). If a connection is notimmediately obtained, the adapter and protocol checking is completed asset forth in connection with the previous Figure (and descriptionthereof) and as set forth in this flow diagram, via the “False” pathoutput of the “Connected?” decision block. Once the connection isestablished, either via the “LAN” path from the “Which Adapter” decisionblock or the “False” path from the “Busy?” decision block, the “pinger”function is initiated as indicated by the “Send Pinger Information toServer” block. If there already is a connection, the “True” path isfollowed from the “Connected?” decision block.

[0128] Once communication is established by the client dispatchapplication 200 with the access service 106, pinger header information,any special database update request, and the like, etc. is transmittedfrom the client dispatch application 200 (generated from the networkservices database 206 and/or the user database 210) to the accessservice 106, as shown by the “Send Update Request to Server”, in orderto establish the identity of the user 110 and system that is requestingan update of information from the access service 106. The access service106 uses this update request information to generate any updatedinformation which is needed to update a specific user, group of users, aspecific network access device such as the computer, a group ofcomputers, or any combination thereof and sends any required informationback to the user 110 to update the appropriate databases 204, 206, 208,210 or Registry or INI, Adapter, and/or Protocol files 212, 214, 216(operating system files). Upon completion of the update, the clientdispatch application 200 disconnects the user 110 from the network(breaks the network connection) and if appropriate, the user 110 will benotified that the network access devices operating system must berebooted in order for the update to take effect.

[0129] Now referring to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a flow diagram of amulti-dial procedure 700 of the client dispatch application 200. Themulti-dial procedure 700 provides the access service 106 with amechanism to control access by a user 110, a group of users, a computer,a group of computers, a local area network (LAN) of computers, or anycombination thereof, to the Internet 100, based upon any one of thefollowing seven sub-function attributes: Cost, Availability,Reliability, Location, Busy-Sequence, Service Selected, or SingleDial/Multi-Login. The multi-dial procedure 700 is initiated by one ofthe other primary procedures 300, 400, 500, 600 (see FIGS. 3 through 6)of the client dispatch application and/or by a multi-dial procedure tagprogrammed into the network services database 206.

[0130] When the multi-dial procedure 700 is initiated in response to abusy signal received during operation of one of the other primaryprocedures 300, 400, 500, 600 and the multi-dial procedure tag isenabled in the network services database 206, the multi-dial procedure700 initiates a Busy-Sequence sub-function. The Busy-Sequencesub-function initiates one of the other multi-dial proceduresub-functions, re-dials the same dial-in number before initiating one ofthe other multi-dial procedure sub-functions, or dials a new dial-innumber identified in the next sequential “area” location from a list ofarea locations available, all in response to database information basedon the user's selected plan. The list of “area locations available” isbased on the type of service plan (also found in the network servicesdatabase 206) subscribed to by the user 110 and/or on PAP IDs and PAPpasswords stored in the network services database 206. If the user 110has chosen to subscribe to a higher cost plan, multiple PAP IDs and PAPpasswords for multiple ISPs 102 may be stored in the network servicesdatabase 206 (certain locations may only have a single ISP). As aresult, a list of available dial-in locations may contain one or moredial-in numbers from one or more ISPs 102. Alternatively, multiple ISPs102 may have PAP ID and PAP password sharing agreements allowing asingle user PAP ID and PAP password entry in the network servicesdatabase 206 to generate a dial-in location list from multiple ISPs 102.In any case, the Busy-Sequence sub-function sequentially attempts tomake a connection to an ISP 102 at each location until either asuccessful connection is made or the user 110 aborts the connectionattempt.

[0131] When the multi-dial procedure 700 is initiated for any reasonother than a busy signal, the client dispatch application 200reconfigures or reinstalls the system configuration adaptor and protocolinformation necessary for network connection. Thereafter, based on datain network services database 206, it is determined whether or not toinitiate a connection attempt to the Internet 100 using a pre-defineddial-in number or location. If a connection is desired using apredefined dial-in number or location, the multi-dial procedure 700 usesone of four types of possible PAP IDs and PAP passwords. These types aredefined as a “multi-dial PAP ID and PAP password”, a “group PAP ID andPAP password”, a “user PAP ID and PAP password”, and a “test PAP ID andPAP password.”

[0132] When both the “pre-defined dial-in number” entry and a “GeneralUse” entry are enabled in the network services database 206, a generaluse connection to the Internet 100 is established using either the“group PAP ID and PAP password” or the “user PAP ID and PAP password.”When the “pre-defined dial-in number” entry is enabled and the “GeneralUse” entry is disabled, then the multi-dial procedure 700 establishes aconnection to the Internet 100 using either the “multi-dial PAP ID andPAP password” or the “test PAP ID and PAP password”. In either case, theuser's dial adaptor (modem) is configured with the ISP-specific accessinformation associated with the predefined dial-in number. After properconfiguration, the client dispatch application 200 automatically dialsand attempts connection to the ISP 102. If the line is busy, it isdetermined whether an alternate dial-in number should be used. If analternate number is not to be used, the dial and connect is retried withthe previous dial-in number. If an alternate number is to be used, thealternate dial number is read from the phone database 204 and the user'sdial adaptor (modem) is configured with the ISP-specific accessinformation associated with the alternate dial-in number.

[0133] Upon successful connection, if the connection is not a “generaluse” connection, the Service Selected sub-function is initiated (adouble dial procedure). If the connection is a “general use” connection,the client dispatch application 200 transmits pinger header informationto the access service 106. In response, the access service 106 transmitsinformation to the user 110 (client dispatch application 200). Themulti-dial procedure 700 determines from this received informationwhether a transparent update is needed (i.e., update information in thedatabase(s) without user intervention). If so, the client dispatchapplication 200 updates the database(s) and determines whether adisconnect is required. If not, the user 110 continues regular use untildisconnected by some other means. If so, the user 110 is notified andmay be given the option to choose to disconnect or may be forced todisconnect.

[0134] If after a connection is made and the user 110 has used a PAP IDand PAP password that is used by another in order to establish the user110 connection, then the access service 106 updates the user'sdatabase(s) (possibly with a new and valid PAP ID and PAP password) andthe client dispatch application 200 either disconnects the user 110 (andnotifies the user 110 that the PAP ID is not valid) or allows the user110 to stay connected (if the user 110 has received a new and valid PAPID). This particular process also applies to the regular use procedure500 (see FIG. 5).

[0135] In the preferred embodiment, when a “pre-defined dial-in number”entry in the network services database 206 is disabled, then themulti-dial procedure 700 executes one or more of the seven sub-functionsin response to entries in the network services database 206.

[0136] The Service Selected sub-function reads pinger header informationfrom the network services database 206 and the user database 210 andsends this information in a data message to the access service 106 (tothe network server/database 220). The access service 106 uses theinformation to generate database updates (including new PAP ID, etc.)which may or may not assign, reassign, or update ISPs, dial-inlocations, PAP IDs and PAP passwords, dial-in numbers, network routinginformation, Adapters, Protocol, or any other information stored in thedatabases 204, 206, 208, 210. Such database updates are then transmittedto the user 110 and the client dispatch application 200 to update theappropriate database 204, 206, 208, 210. After the database informationis updated, the user 100 is disconnected, and the Regular Use primaryprocedure is initiated using the updated information received from theaccess service 106.

[0137] The “Low Cost” sub-function obtains information from both thenetwork services database 206 and the phone database 204 and determineswhich ISP 102 and what locations (dial-in phone numbers for localaccess) have the lowest priced service for a given user's dial-inlocation. The lowest cost sub-function next determines if the user's PAPID and PAP password stored in network services database 206 are valid(compare the current user's PAP ID and PAP password with the user'scurrently selected dial-in location) for the ISP 102 that provides thelow cost connection point-of-presence at the user's location. If theuser PAP ID and PAP password are valid, the network connection sequencewill dial and connect as described in the regular use procedure 500. Ifthe user PAP ID and PAP password are invalid then this sub-function willinitiate the manual update procedure 600 requesting from the accessservice 106 a valid user PAP ID and PAP password for the ISP's dial-innetwork at the user selected location. Then, the network connectionsequence will dial as described in the regular use procedure 500.

[0138] The “Reliability” sub-function obtains information from both thenetwork services database 206 and the phone database 204 and determineswhich ISP 102 and what locations (dial-in phone numbers for localaccess) have the highest reliability of connecting the user to theInternet 100. This determination is based upon prior data (reliabilitydata) transmitted to the client dispatch application 200 from the accessservice 106 that is used to update the user databases. This datatransmission occurs during a previous session when the user 110 isconnected to the Internet 100. The reliability data is transferred bythe access service 106 to the users 110 who have a reliability entryenabled in their network services database 206. The reliabilitysub-function next determines if the user PAP ID and PAP password storedin the NS.db are valid (compare the current user's PAP ID and PAPpassword with the user's currently selected dial-in location) for theISP that provides the highest reliability at the selected location. Whenthe user PAP ID and PAP password are valid, the network connectionsequence will dial and connect as described in the regular use procedure500. When the user PAP ID and PAP password are invalid, then thissub-function will initiate the manual update procedure 600, as describedin connection with FIG. 6, requesting from the access service 106 avalid user PAP ID and PAP password for the ISP's dial-in network at theuser selected location. Then, the network connection sequence will dialas described in the regular use procedure 500 of FIG. 5.

[0139] Reliability refers to the ability to reliably connect on a firstor second attempt (availability) and the ability to stay connected for asubstantial period of time without disconnection, due mainly because ofline noise problems, faulty equipment, etc. (integrity). Availabilityinformation used to determine availability of various ISPs 102 (anddial-in numbers) may include at least three types of information. Thefirst type of information includes availability information that isreceived by the access service 106 from the ISPs 102 themselves(typically updated periodically). The second type of informationincludes information in a client histogram (client specific) that isgenerated by the client dispatch application 200 of the user 110. Overan extended time during which the user 110 makes more and moreconnections to the Internet 100 (via an ISP 102), the client dispatchapplication 200 keeps track of the times a connection is made on thefirst try, second try, etc. for each dial-in phone number (and/or ISP)used by the user 100. From this, a client-specific histogram isgenerated that contains information about the past history of the user'sconnections. The third type of information includes information in aserver histogram that is generated by the access service 106. The accessservice 106 tracks and stores information relating to all ISPs 102 anddial-in numbers regarding past history connections. See also, thedescription set forth below in the availability sub-functiondescription. As will be appreciated, the reliability sub-function mayuse any one of the types of availability information, or combinationthereof, for determining the dial-in number (or multiple numbers inpriority) that will provide the user 110 with a high reliabilityconnection.

[0140] With respect to the integrity information used to determine theintegrity of the various ISPs 102 (and dial-in numbers), there are atleast two types of information. The first type of information includesinformation received via technical support inquiries to the accessservice 106 by the users 110. If the access service 106 receives a call(or calls) from users 110 regarding faulty lines and/or prematuredisconnects, this information can be tabulated and stored fordetermining integrity. Since the access service 106 stores data relativewhat ISP(s) 102 (and dial-in number(s)) a particular user 110 has beenusing (through information in the access service 106 database gainedthrough the pinging or heartbeat process—described earlier), the accessservice 106 can determine which ISP(s) 102 (and/or dial-in number(s))have relatively high and/or low integrity. In response to thisinformation, the access service can update the user's databases withthis information. The second type of information includes informationautomatically gathered by the access service 106 that includes a historyof the number of users, how long each has been connected, and whatISP(s) 102 (and/or dial-in number(s)) to which each user has beenconnected (through information in the access service 106 database gainedthrough the pinging or heartbeat process described earlier). The accessservice 106 can transmit the integrity data to the user 110 for use bythe reliability sub-function of the client dispatch application 200. Aswill be appreciated, the reliability sub-function may use any one of thetypes of integrity information, or combination thereof, for determiningthe dial-in number (or multiple numbers in priority) that will providethe user 110 with a high reliability connection.

[0141] From a combination of the availability information and theintegrity information, the reliability sub-function determines thedial-in number (or multiple numbers in priority) that will provide theuser 110 with high reliability connection.

[0142] The “Location” sub-function obtains information from the phonedatabase 204 and determines all the dial-in phone numbers available to auser 110 from a selected location. The location sub-function generates alist of “surrounding area” locations into which user 110 may dial. Theuser 110 then selects a dial-in number from this list. The locationsub-function next determines if the user PAP ID and PAP password storedin the network services database 206 are valid (compare the currentuser's PAP ID and PAP password with the user's currently selecteddial-in location) for the ISP 102 in which the user's computer will dialinto the selected location. When the user PAP ID and PAP password arevalid, the network connection sequence will dial and connect asdescribed in the regular use procedure 500. When the user PAP ID and PAPpassword are invalid, this sub-function will initiate the manual updateprocedure 600 requesting from the access service 106 a valid user PAP IDand PAP password for the ISP's dial-in network at the user selectedlocation. Then, a network connection sequence will dial as described inthe regular use procedure 500 of FIG. 5.

[0143] The “Availability” sub-function generates a dial-in location(number) list based upon user PAP IDs and PAP passwords stored in thenetwork services database 206 and the type of service plan (also foundin the network services database 206) to which a user 110 hassubscribed. If a user 110 has chosen to subscribe to a higher cost plan,multiple PAP IDs and PAP passwords for multiple ISPs 102 may be storedin the network services database. Accordingly, the list of availabledial-in locations may contain one or more (multiple) dial-in numbersfrom one or more (multiple) ISPs 102. Alternatively, multiple ISPs 102may have PAP ID and PAP password sharing agreements allowing a singleuser PAP ID and PAP password entry in the network services database 206to generate a dial-in location list from multiple ISPs 102.

[0144] As will be appreciated, the availability sub-function utilizesthe same type of availability information as described above in thereliability sub-function.

[0145] The availability sub-function utilizes one or more methods or theservice selected sub-function to increase the probability that the user110 at a given location will successfully connect on the first try. Thisfunctionality is based upon historical data (Histogram data) or realtime data supplied by an ISP to the access service 106. The historicaldata may include two types of data—Client Histogram data or ServerHistogram data. To accomplish the availability function, the ServerHistogram data, Client Histogram data, or the service Selectedsub-function is utilized, or any combination thereof is utilized, asdesired.

[0146] The Client Histogram data is based upon connection history of theuser 110. The Client Histogram data is not as beneficial, as other data,until a particular user 110 has consistently established a networkconnection (to the Internet 100) for a period of time sufficient tocreate a meaningful histogram. It has been determined that a period ofat least ninety days is sufficient if a user accesses regularly. After asufficient period of time, a Client Histogram can be built to determinethe probability of success of the user 110 connecting to the network thefirst time. This minimizes the necessity of having the client dispatchapplication 500 perform a second dial-attempt to connect to the network100.

[0147] The Server Histogram data is based upon the connection history ofeach particular ISP 102 and its dial-in numbers. This information isstored in the access service 106 in response to the monitoring of allthe users 110 (through the “pinging” process). The Server Histogram datais transmitted to the user's network services database 206 upon anyconnection to the network 100 when the availability sub-function isenabled within the client dispatch application 200.

[0148] In the preferred embodiment, the Server Histogram data isnormally used in conjunction with the Client Histogram data (whenappropriate) to determine the highest probability of success ofconnecting to the network 100 without a second dialing attempt.Accordingly, upon the user 100 initiating a connection to the network100, the client dispatch application 200 automatically selects a dial-inphone number that it has determined to have a high probability ofsuccess for connection. Thus, the Client Histogram data and the ServerHistogram data are used to facilitate a statistical approach todetermine the highest probability of a user 110 connecting to thenetwork on the first attempt.

[0149] However, there may be times when a user 110 desires a very highconfidence (near 100% or 100%) connection, or the Histogram data is notdesired to be used, such as when the data for a particular area isunreliable (i.e. certain geographic areas may have insufficienttelecommunications infrastructure that may skew the data) and thereforepossibly useless. In these cases the service selected sub-function isinitiated and a “double dial” process takes place (see FIG. 7 and thedescription of service selected sub-function). In the service selectedsub-routing, availability information of ISPs 102 is used by the accessservice 106 to give the user 110 a dial-in number that is available.This availability information for the ISPs 102 is periodicallytransmitted or given to the access service 106, typically every fiveminutes. The “double dial” process is also exemplified in FIG. 7 and theaccompanying text.

[0150] The last sub-function of the multi-dial procedure 700 is the“Single-dial Multi-Login” sub-function. Initiation of thesingle-dial/multi-login sub-function requires a “multi-dial” attemptonly when the user 110 receives a busy signal; otherwise thissub-function is a single-dial function with a multiple PAP ID and PAPpassword assignment/reassignment function. This function (theassignment/reassignment) requires that all user (client) 110authentication for all ISPs 102 happens at the access service 106 (i.e.,all authentication for all ISPs is centralized) or at a centrallylocated database point. Thus, this function works with multiple ISPs 102when each allows user authentication to take place at a centrallylocated server independent of each ISP's own user authentication server.For example, an ISP that has its own Authentication Server, and whoresells the underlying ISPs modem access to a user 110, may support thisfunction by allowing a user 110 to dial and connect using an “InitialAccess PAP ID and PAP password”, then assigning a unique session PAP IDand PAP password and “re-logging” into the Authentication server withoutdisconnecting the user 110. This eliminates the time that wouldotherwise be required to disconnect and re-dial using a newly assignedPAP ID and PAP password.

[0151] The client dispatch application 200 also functions to provideusers 110 with network identity anonymity. That is, the architecture ofthe client dispatch application 200 provides anonymity for users 110during access to the network 100 as IDs and passwords (such IDs andpasswords would include PAP IDs and PAP passwords, Email IDs and Emailpasswords, NEWS IDs and NEWS passwords, FTP and Web Space IDs andpasswords, and custom network application IDs and passwords) can bedynamically reassigned for a given user, a given system, a given groupof users, a given group of systems, or any combination thereof. Thus, ifa user 110 has three computer systems (A_Computer, B_Computer, andC_Computer) each requires a unique user/system identification which isgenerated during installation and registration and stored in theclient's network service database 206 and/or the user database 204. Thisunique user/system identification allows the access service 106 tomaintain unique and independent IDs and passwords for the user/systempair. Thus, when a user 110 connects the A_Computer to the network,unique IDs and passwords which may be distinctly different from theB_Computer and C_Computer's IDs and passwords (stored in the networkservices database 206 and/or the user database 204) may be used totransparently log the user into such things as the network, Email,FTP/Web Space, NEWS groups, Bulletin Boards, or any other applicationrequiring login identification and password. Thus, the architecturesupports single life IDs and/or passwords for all network andapplication logins.

[0152] Now referring to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a block diagram ofa storage medium 900 and a computer 902. The storage medium 900 includesclient dispatch application 200 (computer program) and may also includethe databases 204, 206, 208, 210. The computer 902 also includes a means(not shown) for reading or downloading the client dispatch application200 (computer program) into the computer 902 to cause the computer 902to perform one or more steps in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention. As will be appreciated, the storage medium 900 mayinclude a floppy or hard disk, magnetic or optical taps; or any otherdata storage medium known presently or developed in the future forstoring a computer program, such as the client dispatch application 200of the present invention.

[0153] As will be realized by those skilled in the art of email(electronic mail) sent between parties on a network, email is typicallyheld in a post office box type storage facility at the recipients ISPuntil retrieved by the recipient. However the ISP typically keeps a copyof the email for a period of time after receipt thereof for variouspurposes. Many people have the technical capability to access and readthese stored messages at the ISP. Even where the message body isencrypted, considerable information may be gleaned over a period of timeby keeping track of who is sending messages to whom, the frequency ofmessages to given parties and data gleaned from the subject matterportion of the header.

[0154] The structure of the present invention combined with an emailprogram, software plug-in for a standard email program or browser lendsitself to a method of minimizing the possibility of unauthorizedgleaning of information from email and further minimizes the possibilityof spamming where spamming is defined as the sending of large amounts ofemail to a given recipient for harassment like purposes.

[0155] One way to minimize the gleaning of information is to send allmail through a third party to recipients. The third party acts as atrusted banker or broker. Such an operation is shown diagrammatically inFIG. 10 where the sender sends the email to a Broker. The brokerrepackages email as deemed appropriate by agreement with the senderand/or the recipient and sends it on its way. The simplest form is tomerely place the entire original message including header information inmessage body of the email and send the package to the recipient with therecipient also listed as the sender and placing an innocuous subject inthe visible header.

[0156] A next level of security is for either the sender or the brokeror both to encrypt the package sent by that party to the next party.This could result in double encryption of the message body. Similarplug-in software comprising part of the recipients email program,software plug-in for a standard email program or browser may be used todecipher the received package and the original email would then berecreated for reading by the recipient. The deciphering may beaccomplished by keys transmitted by the pinger entity to the recipientssoftware. As part of this next level of security, the email sent to thebroker or third party in a preferred embodiment of this invention hasthe TO and FROM portions of the visible header listing the broker, hasthe subject changed to innocuous data and the entire original messageencrypted as shown in the drawing.

[0157]FIG. 11 presents the above process in a slightly different formatwhere a row labeled 1010 illustrates the original message composed bythe sender. Either the sender of the plug-in software may then provide afirst level of encryption to the data as shown in row 1012. Transparentto the user, the plug-in software then repackages the original messageby encrypting the entire message and generating a new header with thethird party (here the third party is listed as NetSafe) listed as boththe sender and the recipient. The email sent to the broker is labeled1014. Since the broker is in contact with the data bases in the plug-insoftware via the pinger entity, the broker may decipher to second layerof encryption to determine the destination address. The broker may thenre-encrypt and send the email 1018 if the recipient is also a client ofthat broker and/or has similar plug-in software in contact with anetwork pinger. Otherwise, the originally composed, and possiblyencrypted, message is sent to the recipient as shown by the labeledmessage 1020

[0158] There may be times that the sender of email may not want therecipient to know the senders true identity or even the network serviceprovider of the sender. Alternatively, the sender may wish to usedifferent aliases or names for different classes of email contacts sothat the sender may quickly sort incoming mail into a set of prioritystacks. Further the recipient of email in a system using the presentinvention may have similar requirements. FIG. 12 illustrates a secondorder anonymity header process for email transmission.

[0159] In this figure a block 1040 represents a standard header of emailcomposed by the sender. When the sender has completed the email andposts it, the senders email program, software plug-in for a standardemail program or browser plug-in intercepts the email and checks theappropriate database. It is determined in block 1042 that for identity“me@other.com” the address “alias@alias.com” should be used. The plug-insoftware thus creates a new header in substitution for the one composedby the sender and encrypts the entire message including the alteredheader as shown in the lower portion of block 1046. The software thenconsults the database represented by block 1048 and determines that themost recent data received from the pinger entity suggests that thenetwork service provider to be used for “other.com” in this instanceshould be “netsafe.com”. Accordingly, a new anonymous header is preparedin accordance with that shown in block 1046 before the message isforwarded to a third party for retransmission to the recipient.

[0160] As shown in FIG. 13, the third party or broker receives the emailas represented by block 1060 where 1060 is identical to block 1046. Thesoftware in the server of the third party, as set forth in block 1062,decrypts the stored header information after noting the form of thevisible header information. It is able to do so because the pingerentity that determines the encryption code to be used in the sendersencryption process and provides the senders database with the thirdparty to be used, also informs the third party the encryption code to beused for deciphering. This code may be part of the visible message id ormay be inserted in the server database of that specific third party. Ifthe recipient has signed up for anonymity service, the server willretrieve from its database a presently assigned alias for the recipient.Whether or not an alias is used for the recipient, the third partyserver will rebuild the header using an address for the recipient inboth the TO and FROM portions of the visible header as shown in block1064.

[0161]FIG. 14 presents a block 1070 representing a received email asretrieved from the server storing email for alias.com. This message isidentical to the previously designated block 1064. The recipientssoftware checks the database and in accordance with block 1072 deciphersthe message and creates the viewable header set forth in block 1074.

[0162]FIG. 15 shows a sender composed message designated as 1080 and apartial representation of a sender computer stored database 1082 alongwith a revised message 1084 wherein block 1084 corresponds withpreviously designated block 1046 in FIG. 12. The software checks thedatabase and notes the subscript 1 for the server listed as “npn.net” inthe registered email domain portion of the database. The same subscriptis checked under the SECURE/EMAILDOMAIN portion to determine whether ornot to encrypt the message, the encryption code whether or not to use athird party and if so the address to be used. As may be observed by thearrow lines, for npn.net, a PGP encryption is to be used, a broker is tobe used and the broker listed with a subscript “1” is “netsafe.com”.Thus “netsafe.com” is inserted in the visible header of the messageshown as 1084. The database also specifies the public key to be used forthe encryption and deciphering processes. The NO in the third to thelast line of the illustrated database 1082 provides an indication thatthe sender wants the recipient to be advised of the senders name ascomposed on his computer. This is in contradistinction to that shownFIG. 12 previously. When the server 1086 receives the message 1084, itwill consult a database similar to that illustrated as 1082 and performthe functions set forth in FIG. 13

[0163] The generation of software for intercepting a message, consultinga database, altering header data in accordance with the database,encrypting the entire message including the altered header and thencreating a new header before sending the entire data package is wellwithin the capability of anyone skilled in the art of network computerprograming in view of the presentation in FIGS. 10-15 and theaccompanying explanatory material. As will be apparent, the softwarewill be different for each different operating system email program,software plug-in for a standard email program or browser and thus nopseudo code or detailed flow diagram has been presented herein.

[0164]FIG. 16 provides a simplified example of a button bar, power bar,or tool bar that can be generated using the referenced MOT scriptlanguage in combination with data retrieved from the data bases. If aclient were traveling away from home and accessed the network from NewYork, this information would be provided to the pinger entity. If theclient then logged onto a web page of an airline who was also a clientof a service using the present inventive components, the web page couldbe programed, since data would be available that the clients home wasfor example Dallas Tex., to immediately bring up a list of all flightsleaving New York and bound for other destinations that the client hadregularly traveled to in the recent past such as Dallas. The MOTgenerated bar or graphic in one implementation including a movingdisplay. Such a display may provide advertising or information liketicker tape like stock market data.

[0165] In FIG. 17, an illustrative commentary is provided of thedatabases and their contents upon initial installation of software of anew client wishing to access the services of the present invention.

[0166] In FIG. 18 a selection menu 1102 is representative of a displaythat would be presented upon a clients system for selecting a testlocation to initially use the software installed in FIG. 17. The phonedatabase is represented by 1104 while the NS (network services) databaseis represented by 1106. When the client selects a city in Tex. such asPlano, the software will note the number “1” at the end of the data ofdatabase 1104. In the NS database a “1” is shown to refer to UUNETservices. As may be observed, if Garland had been picked, a “2” wouldhave been detected and PSINet services would be used. As shown by arrowline 1108, the software would determine that the test location number is“519”, the PAPID to be used is “nsTEST” and the PAP password is“zzzwww123”. Other data that may be utilized is also contained in thedatabase.

[0167] In FIG. 19 the clients computer is designated as 1120, thenetwork as 1122, the network access provider as 1124 and the pingerentity as 1126. The test and update procedure is illustrated. The firstaction is for 1120 to connect through the NAP shown within network cloud1122 to 1124 using the PAPID and PAP passwork in the the NS database forthe selected NAP. As set forth in FIG. 18, these values would be“nsTEST” and “zzzwww123”. The NAP 1124 validates or authenticates the IDand password. For security reasons, the test ID and registration IDnetwork connection, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, islimited to 90 seconds. The system 1120 initiates a full network protocoltest to the pinger 1126 by sending information about the client's system(1120) and the software revision installed therein. As will be realized,the installed database includes the address of an appropriate pinger1126. The pinger 1126, after receiving the information, performs minimalprocessing on the received data and sends back any update informationsuch as DNS changes, Phone number updates and the like. The pinger maythen send back some static information as well as any further updateinformation that the system 1120 may require. The client software in1120 checks the static information received, validates a reliableconnection and then processes any update information for storage in anappropriate location(s).

[0168]FIG. 20 is presented to help in the description of clientregistration. The clients system 1150, connects to an NAP in the network1152 using the registration PAPID and PAP password stored in the NSdatabase for a selected NAP as provided in the originally installedsoftware. Such data may be found in the appendix A NS database in theappropriate lines RAM/ACCT/REG. The authentication portion of the NAP(1154) validates the PAPID and PAP password so that the client 1150 maycommunicate with a pinger entity such as 1158. (Although the preferredembodiment of the invention has the client 1150 send a registrationrequest to pinger 1158 to provide further “security by obscurity”, theregistration request can be made directly to a registration andauthentication server such as 1156 if so desired and thus proceeddirectly to a later portion of this paragraph description.) When pinger1158 receives the registration request, it returns addressing, ID andpassword information to client 1150. This information will normally havea single life (that is it may only be used once) since the inventivesystem is designed to continually change passwords and other data suchas addresses. With this information, the client 1150 may now initiate aregistration request to the server 1156 as referenced above. The server1156 processes the users supplied information and issues a uniqueauthentication token, a temporary PAPID and PAP password and/or apermanent PAPID and PAP password in accordance with system design. In analternate embodiment, only a unique authentication token may be issuedwherein the software in client 1150 is required to obtain the PAPID andPAP password from a pinger such as 1158. This supplied user registrationinformation is stored in an appropriate database in 1156 for laterauthentication purposes. It may be noted that blocks 1156 and 1158 mayshare the same physical hardware but may also be remotely located and beinterconnected via the network.

[0169]FIG. 21 is similar to FIG. 20 in having a client system 1180, anetwork 1182, a NAP authentication entity 1154, and a pinger entity1186. In addition an optional PAP ID server 1188 is illustratedconnected to the blocks 1184 and 1186. This connection may be throughthe network or direct as illustrated in the drawing. A further pluralityof blocks representing at least a web server 1190, an email server 1192and a commerce server 1194 are shown connected to the network anddirectly to pinger 1186. When operating in a general or anonymous accessmode, the client 1180 connects to a NAP within network 1182 using aPAPID and PAP password assigned and stored in the NS database for aselected NAP. The NAP validates the ID and password via block 1184. Onceconnected, client 1180 initiates a “Network Presence Notification” tothe appropriate pinger such as 1186. If the client 1180 is set in aselectable “Anonymous Mode” the “Network Presence Notification” willinclude a request for a new alias along with revised PAPID and PAPpassword data for use in the next network login attempt.

[0170] When the pinger 1186 receives the notification, the date and timeof receipt in logged along with the clients authentication token and thenetwork address assigned to the client 1180 by the selected NAP. Thepinger 1186 returns a response which may, from time to time, include anew authentication token in addition to data requested when the clientis in the “Anonymous Mode”. It should be noted that the pinger entitiessuch as 1188 may be used to facilitate “Client side Authentication” whenused in conjunction with servers such as 1190, 1192 and 1194 asexamples. The client, or others attempting to access the system, doesnot have access to the information contained in any of the clientdatabases and the client and others cannot spoof a commerce server intobelieving that a transaction is originating somewhere else or by someoneelse.

[0171] From the above discourse, it may be appreciated that the variousdatabases residing at the access provider and each of the clientssystems along with a script language such as MOT and the two waycommunication between clients and an access provider permits dynamic orconstantly changeable network access and encryption parameters tominimize the possibility of unauthorized access to the network accessprovider or its clients communications. This is accomplished by:

[0172] 1 Dynamic network login ID and password;

[0173] 2 Dynamically assigned network address;

[0174] 3 Dynamically assigned resource user Ids, passwords and so forth;

[0175] 4 Dynamic encryption algorithm use; and

[0176] 5 Dynamic encryption key generation and use.

[0177] With respect to item 1 above, since a user's network login andpassword change periodically transparent to the user client and they arehidden from the user so as to be not accessible by the user, networkfraud and abuse may be significantly reduced. Further the dynamicassignment process allows the login access to be different from systemto system. Since the physical address of a server can be changed on anyrandom or periodic basis, Item 2 causes a significant reduction in therisk of service attacks, network lockouts and unauthorized access todata. The dynamic assigning and reassigning of email alias as occurs inaccordance with Item 3 significantly reduces the risk of unauthorizedviewing of a given clients email messages. The changing domain aliasesminimizes the risk of denial of access service while the dynamicallygenerated and authenticated session IDs for network commerce reduces therisk of fraud.

[0178] In addition to the above discussion and description, the presentinvention is also described and disclosed in Appendices A, B and C whichare hereby incorporated by referen

[0179] Although the invention has been described with reference to aspecific embodiment, these descriptions are not meant to be construed ina limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, aswell as alternative embodiments of the invention will become apparent topersons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of theinvention. It should also be noted that while terms such as “networkdevice user” may be used to describe a single client, it may also beused to describe a network of users having a common factor such as anemployer. It is therefore, contemplated that the claims will cover anysuch modifications or embodiments that fall within the true scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of connecting a user to a networkcomprising the steps of: dialing a first access number to connect to thenetwork; determining whether the first access number is busy; upon adetermination that the first access number is not busy, connecting theuser to the network; and upon a determination that the first accessnumber is busy, connecting to the network via one or more numbers from alist of area locations available.
 2. A method of connecting a user to anetwork comprising the steps of: determining whether a predefinedtelephone number is to be used; upon a determination that a predefinedtelephone number is to be used, connecting the user to the network viathe predefined telephone number; upon a determination that a predefinedtelephone number is not to be used, performing the substeps of:determining a telephone access number of an ISP and a location thatprovides the lowest cost service to the user; and connecting the user tothe network via the telephone access number.